Chapter 1

            "The world is filled with so many memories." Akino lay on the soft grass on a hill with her best friend, the both of them looking up towards the artificial night sky. She turned to Roy as he sat up.

            "And we are too." He smiled as he held out his hand to help Akino onto her feet. "It's getting dark, Akino. We should get going." Akino let out a sigh and grabbed Roy's hand, letting herself be pulled to her feet.

"Tomorrow is going busy, isn't it?" Akino felt the butterflies in her stomach from being nervous. It was going to be Akino's first year of high school and Roy had already gone through his freshman year so Akino always asked him for advice on what to expect. He just merely nodded his head to answer Akino's question. "Your going to be a second year student, aren't you?"

"My, the time just flies by, doesn't it? It seems like it wasn't that long ago when we first met on your first year at jr. high." He smiled at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Akino." Roy trotted down the hill overlooking the city they both lived in, towards his neighborhood and Akino started toward hers. Akino lived further away than and she normally took a route that cut through a alleyway lined with flowers during the spring and summer and provided a pearceful air during the autumn and winter seasons. A forest was in between Akino and Roy's house. Akino took a trail that was normally filled with fireflies and newly bloomed flowers this time of year.

As she walked through the forest Akin's eye caught a faint glow in the distance. She broke off from the main path and wandered deeper into the forest toward what she thought to be the source of the glow. As Akino got closer to the light she began to hear the sound of what sounded like a stream. She suddenly came into the clearing and was instantly awed by what she saw.

"Wow!" Akino exclaimed in a hushed voice as if not to disturb the beauty of the scenery. "I had no idea..." Akino approached the small water fall that was made of beautiful stones. These aren't rocks, are they? Akino thought and reached out to touch one.

"Hello." The voice made Akino jump and she spun around. She suddenly had a feeling like she didn't belong here, as if Akino had trespassed. Akino's mind tried to rationlize it out since the stream was in the middle of a public forest. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here at this time of night." The person talking to Akino was a girl who looked to be about the same age. The girl had deep blue eyes and matching hair that seemed to give the girl an etheral appearence. Her clothes consisted of a oversized light blue sweater with white blended in at the seams. She wore a simple blue knee length skirt to match.

"Do you live here?" Akino asked and the woman smiled a beautiful, innocent smile that seemed to know no sin. The girl's eyes showed the soul of a pure person.

"I call it my home away from home. So what brought you here?" The girl knelt down by the pond and a fish swan to the surface as if to greet her. She held out her hand holding fish food.

"I was walking home and noticed a glowing light that I've never noticed before. I came to see what it was." Akino answered.

"I see." The one fish was joined by several more. The girl smiled at them. "Feeding them myself is the best way to keep them alive." She said. "This being a small water area and with no way to jump up stream they would have no way to survive. They might even resort to hurting each other." The girl looked at Akino. "Want to help me feed them?"

Akino bent down next to the girl and held out her hands.

"Do you have some?" A questioned look came across the girl's face. 

"Have some what?"

"Food. I don't have any." The girls smile faltered. "What's wrong?" Akino asked and the girl stood up suddenly.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. I have to go now. It was a pleasure to meet you..."

"Akino." The girl's sentence was finished for her. "Akino Serene." The girl smiled again.

"I hope we can meet again." The girl sprinted off through the trees leaving Akino alone with the fish.

"I didn't even get her name." Akino muttered then continued her walk home, her mind on the previous events.

 

The next morning was the first day of high school for Akino. She rushed down the stairs, nearly running into her mother.

"Akino," Her mother said shocked. "nice of you to rouse yourself this morning. I was just coming to get you. Do you want cooked breakfast this morning for your first day?" Akino rushed to the house entrance and hurridly put on her shoes.

"No time for breakfast, Mom!" Akino checked her satched to make sure she had her notebook, pencils, pens, and highlighters. "I don't want to be late."

"Then use your bike, honey. Besides, you still have an hour." Akino started to stomp her foot in order to force her shoe on.

"No, I don't. It takes an hour just to get to the school by train. Let alone the trip to get to the train station and then to school after I get off."

"Sorry, I forgot you're at a different school now. Well, take care."

"Right." Akino said and rushed out the door.

As she sped her bike to the train station her mind raced through several different things. There was school and all the challenges the three most important years of her life would present. In the Japan region high school started at the sophomore year which was the reason why there were only three years instead of the four like in the Western region schools. High schools are also harder to get into than schools in most other regions. At the last year of Jr. High students are to take what are called entrance exams to get in to the high school of their chosing. If it's a harder school to get into then the student must do that much more to prepare themselves for the exam. High school works the same way except for the fact that the entrance exams are for college.

Akino was smart enough to get into the high school that she was going to now. It wasn't one of the higher class schools but it was still a very good one. Akino was good at athletics so she hoped that she could get a schalorship to help her with college.

As she boarded the train Akino felt relieved that there were some other students on the train wearing the same school uniform. The train didn't have many people on it so Akino easily found a seat away from the others. As she nodded off into light sleep Akino found herself dreaming of the previous night's events. The girl was surprised by something but Akino didn't know whether to worry about it or not.

 

 

Reviews

[Paris France]

Wow Vincent! This is an enchanting read. I really enjoyed the aura of mystery and surreal beauty surrounding the characters. I spotted two errors though, you used Akin’s instead of Akino’s and swan instead of swam.
But all in all, I am very interested in this book! I’ll keep checking back for updates.